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Sunday, July 16, 2006

Mansur Al Hallaj : Studying

Mansur e Hallaj or Mansur Al-Hallaj (c. 858 - March 26, 922) was a mystic, writer and a great teacher of Sufism. He was from Persia (modern day Iran). His full name was Abu al-Mughith al-Husayn ibn Mansur al-Hallaj. Blessed be his soul.

He was and is one of the most enlightened gnostic that mankind have ever known. Al-Hallaj was martyred in 922, as a result of the following saying that expressed the nature of his mystic union: ana'l –Haqq ("I am Truth"). It's important to note that "al Haqq" can also mean God as the embodiment of one of the 99 Attributes of God, and in the Muslim faith calling oneself God is a capital heresy. It did not help matters that his doctrines were already regarded with both religious and political hostility.

If Sufis no longer proclaim such ideas publicly, however, some still believe them. From the point of view of Truth, the divine is in each person, and each person has the potential to make of themselves and their life a temple to God. As the Sufi saint Junaid is reported to have replied when asked about this incident afterward: "What should he have said, 'I am Falsehood'?"

Even today in the mind of orthodox people they still misunderstand about Mansur (and its not their fault, because Mansur's mystical feelings and understanding are very difficult to comprehend for laymen).

Few of my friends have expressed their desire to know about Mansur and his position from orthodox Islamic view. I am currently reading about Mansur. God willing time to time i will be posting some materials here. If you happen to know some interesting materials about Mansur Al Hallaj, pls do let me know. It may help compiling the information together.

One of the major question put forward was like this:

Mansur was declared first "someone who left religion" then "a unbeliever" or Kafir. And this was validated by the islamic scholars of that time.

Now later how Mansur was accepted as a great muslim mystic? Does that mean that later, the judgement passed to Mansur in the past was proved invalid and wrong? Or is Mansur still a non-believer (kafir) in terms of religious law?